Iranian railway chiefs met with their Afghan counterparts to discuss how to complete the 225-kilometer railway between the Iranian city of Haf and the Afghan trade hub of Herat. Miad Salehi met Bakht-ur-Rehman Sharafat, head of the Afghan Railway Company, in Tehran to discuss the resumption of the third line. The railway on the Iranian side has been completed, as has the free trade and processing zone on the border. The remaining work includes an 85km stretch between Ghurian and Herat. Work on this was halted following the Taliban victory in 2021, during which time a section of the line near the village of Rawzanak was destroyed.

Salehi expressed Iran's determination to complete the railway as soon as possible and stressed the need to take operational steps to determine the way to bring the route into operation. We welcome cooperation with Afghanistan. If Afghanistan is ready to reach a long-term cooperation and pragmatic agreement with our country, we will also announce cooperation in this regard. The work is expected to be largely funded by Iranian investors.

Sarafat called for cooperation with officials from the Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development to help resume construction. The line is expected to improve trade and communications with Herat, one of Afghanistan's most prosperous cities with a population of 550,000. After the completion of the line, it will enter the Middle East market and enter the Indian, European and Southeast Asian markets through the Iranian port of Chabahar. Keywords: engineering construction, engineering news

The route is expected to carry around 320,000 passengers and 6.8 million tonnes of cargo annually, with oil, construction materials and food exports to Iran, and imports of grains, dried fruits, plants and medical supplies. Work on the link began in 2016 when it was deemed critical to Afghanistan's economic future, especially the development of its vast mineral resources.Editor/XingWentao